John Joshua Edward F.

Orbe Laws,Contracts,Ethics,Safety
Bell Telecommunication Philippine Inc.’s (BellTel) appeal to intervene in the court
case filed by Trans Digital Excel Inc., the creditor turned major shareholder of
Express Telecommunications Co. Inc. (Express Telecom), against the National
Telecommunications Commission (NTC) has been turned down by the court.
There is a temporary restraining order (TRO) against the NTC sought to enjoin the
regulators from enforcing a proposed circular on the reallocation of wireless local
loop (WLL) frequencies to broadband wireless access (BWA) service. BellTel
filed a motion to intervenem, saying this hampers its rollout plan for a GSM
(global system for mobile communication) network.
BellTel is the holder of frequency band 1710-1720/1805-1815 Megahertz (MHz),
the same spectrum that is subject to reallocation by the NTC.
But Judge Antonio Eugenio Jr. of the Regional Trial Court in Makati City Branch
24 denied BelTel’s motion. He said in a one-page order that if BellTel’s motion, if
allowed, will “unduly delay the hearing and resolution of the injunction.”
Trans Digital had argued that BellTel cannot intervene because the court case is
part of the corporate rehabilitation proceeding involving Express Telecom.
Being neither a creditor nor a debtor of Express Telecom, TransDigital said
BellTel does not have any interest in the success of the cellular firm’s
rehabilitation.
“BellTel cannot come before this court seeking to intervene in a corporate rehab
proceeding on the basis of a supposed legal interest in a frequency which it
erroneously presumes to own as if by some divine right,” Trans Digital had said.
Trans Digital said there was no truth to BellTel’s claim that it had been assigned
the frequency band. “BellTel has no litigable interest to justify the proposed
intervention. Sight should not be lost of the fact that the NTC proposed circular
which is the subject of Trans Digital’s application for injunctive relief seeks to
reallocate the frequency band from WLL to BWA. Even if the proposed circular is
issued, BellTel can only use the frequency for BWA applications and not for its
purported GSM rollout.”
Trans Digital is suing the NTC so it could not proceed with the implementation of
the draft circular. To do so, it said, will interfere with Express Telecom’s
frequency band 1720-1725/1815-1820 MHz, which is assigned for GSM.
BellTel pointed out that any resolution of Trans Digital’s motion would
indubitably affect its rights over its use of frequency band. “Clearly, BellTel’s
intervention is necessary to protect its rights over the use of said frequency band,”
the company had said.
BellTel informed the NTC that its frequency band would be used for a GSM
rollout and will not interfere with Express Telecom’s frequencies. But the NTC,
according to BellTel, has not acted on its clarification. “BellTel’s plan to develop
its GSM network is being stalled, and is affecting its income and investments,” it
said.
The company added that the 1800MHz spectrum was assigned by the NTC for
WLL use. But when the NTC granted BellTel a mobile phone license in 2007, it
has now asked the NTC to use the frequencies for mobile use.
BellTel is a 100-percent Filipino-owned company licensed to provide fixed,
internet and leased line services, as well as data services nationwide, particularly in
special economic zones.
The Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) Group was once interested
in BellTel “but it never got off,” an official of PLDT’s unit Smart Communications
Inc. said.
Smart chief wireless adviser Orlando Vea had said in an earlier interview that the
talks between PLDT and BellTel were “very preliminary.
“Yes, there were talks before but not now. There are no more talks happening now.
The discussions never took off,” said the Smart official.
Sources said Smart wants to acquire BellTel for its frequencies which can be
utilized for WiMax (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access)
technology, touted to be the next generation after 3G (third generation). BellTel,
however, denied this.
Vea did not say why the talks ended but he said Smart now has Primeworld Digital
Systems Inc. (PDSI), which the cellular firm acquired in May in a bid to strengthen
the cellular firm’s leading position in the wireless broadband business.

Source:
https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/07/15/09/court-rejects-belltel-appeal-
express-telecom-case
Jose Mari D. Laguardia Laws,Contracts,Ethics,Safety

The Regional Trial Court of Quezon City has junked the petition of
a broadcasting firm to stop the National Telecommunications
Commission (NTC) from reallocating idle frequencies to telecom
companies.
In an order, Judge Santiago Arenas of the Quezon City RTC Branch
217 said Exodus Broadcasting Co. Inc. has lost its right over its
previously assigned frequencies after the regulator farmed these
out to different telcos under Memorandum Circular (MC) 06-08-
2005.
The court said that NTC’s action did not violate Exodus’ right.
The regulator had issued the circular after Exodus failed to use the
frequencies, which were later on reallocated for Broadband
Wireless Access (BWA) use.
The MC has allowed the regulator to assign Exodus’ unutilized
frequencies to Innove Communications Inc., Etelco, Digital
Telecommunications Phils Inc., Liberty Broadcasting Network Inc.,
Bayan Telecommunications Inc. and Smart Broadband Inc.
“Exodus, after its provisionary authority had expired, cannot be
considered as a hold-over to the frequencies formerly assigned to
it by the NTC. Moreover, Exodus with an expired PA, cannot validly
use and operate its frequencies without a renewed authority,” the
court added.
NTC granted Exodus six years ago a provisionary authority to
install, operate and maintain a Multipoint, Multi-Channel
Distribution System (MMDS) and assigned frequencies 2644-2650
megahertz (MHZ), 2656-2662 Mhz; 2668-2674 Mhz and 2680-
2686Mhz to the firm.
The permit granted to Exodus on August 2003 was valid for 18
months only, or until February 2005.
Source:
https://staging.manilatimes.net/2010/07/15/business/business-
top/court-backs-ntc-on-reallocation/641539/